Looking for helpful tips on transitioning into P3
 

I always suck at this part and I want to do it right this time.
Looking for any helpful tips that worked for you.
What did you eat?
When and how much fat did you introduce?

Can't wait for P3 but it also scares the crap out of me.

Donna - I loved the transition plan that I did this time around. Really REALLY helped me. It's posted at the following link...

http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/hc...l#post15955684

If you try it, let us know how it goes!

Make it a LIFESTYLE change. It is the only way to keep the weight off. YOU ARE WORTH IT:hugs:.

I'm on round 2 right now..

I used a 4 day Fat Fast to transition into P3 after my last round. I started the FF during my last 2 dosing days. It's rogue in the sense that I completely ignored the '2vlcd- no hhcg' rule. It enabled me to up my caloric intake quickly and I lost an additional 1.8 after my last dose. When continuing onto P3- I bounced up +/- a pound- leaving me at .8 below LDW. And that's where I stayed during my entire P3; I stabilized like a rock! I plan on using this method again at the end of this round.

Of course, everyone is different.. ymmv! There's a great "Fat Fasters" thread..

However you proceed, I think the most important thing is to look at P3 not as the END of the diet, but as a new PHASE in the diet. It's still important not to cheat - it's just that "cheating" means something different than it did in P2. On HCG we have the benefit of losing more quickly (at least most people do; me, not so much) than on other WOE's. But that means we have to work extra hard to maintain that loss. The HCG diet is like buyging something on a payment plan - you get to enjoy it right away, but you can't forget that you have to keep paying.

I am so pleased to hear this happy :jumpjoy::jumpjoy: I have gained the last 2 days on plan. Very frustrating indeed :annoyed: I think it is the food I am eating. Eating at work has not been working this round. When I have just a couple of week's ago, I would STS on the scale the next day. This week I have gained. It must be that I have run out of potassium. I ran out on Monday and haven't had any since. I think it has to do with the sodium solution they must use on the grilled chicken at chick fil a. Nothing to balance that out with makes me retain. Anyway, thinking of doing the fat fast tomorrow. Sounds most promising!! And tomorrow being my first P3 day I won't be rogue! Just a tad worried about going from a low fat/no fat diet to an all fat diet so quickly. Not sure how my body will handle that one ;)

:goodpost::goodpost: Absolutely. I remember way back when this saying...what you do in P2 effects how you do in P3. What you do in P3 effects how you do in P4. I highly suggest following protocol ALL THE WAY THROUGH. It is not a piecemeal plan where you pick and choose what to do. Otherwise it won't work. You have to do the whole protocol and follow through. Best advice I ever got about the hcg protocol :up:

I will go read the FatFast thread but can someone just explain to me in REAL simple terms what a FatFast requires me to do?

I would like to do P3 and then try JUDDD but I have to read about that too.
From what I understand about Juddd is that you have an up day and then a down day. Can you ever have 2 up days like weekends and then 2 down days to correct it?

Right now I just want anything besides burger, chicken and shrimp and salad!!

Thanks. I do need to be in this for the long haul! I owe it to myself to be healthy.

Lil Donna, there is all kinds of help and many answers for you on the JUDDD forum. And yes, some people do DD's M, W, F and UD's Sat and Sunday, at least for maintenance. There are varying experiences with that. And DD's are not really "corrections." The benefits of "intermittent fasting" have been researched repeatedly, and you will get a lot out of reading Dr. Johnson's book (I found it fascinating), not just the forum. But I suggest you ask questions over there. The ladies are really helpful.

This is not something I came up with but it is on the front of my fridge from somewhere - sorry, I can't honestly remember where I found it but it worked for me:

P3 week 1 - get body used to larger quantities of food (same foods as P2 for most part)

P3 week 2 - get used to higher fats, start cooking with oil and butter if haven't been in week 1, add nuts and avocado

P3 week 3 - get body used to additional no starch foods , add many different meats, veggies, fruits, mixing things, more dairy

P4 week 1 - get body used to natural starch, add sweet potato, red potato, banana, oatmeal, beans. limit 1 per day

P4 week 2 - continue getting used to starches limit 2 per day

P4 week 3 - try processed starch like bread or cereal, cook naturally but use sugar, try rice, corn - try 3 a day



This regime has totally worked for me - I'm within two pounds of my LDW, never actually done a steak or other correction day at 7 months after my last round.

Not tooting my own horn, but this plan really works IF and ONLY IF you really follow through on phase 3 - in my experience it was the most important part of the whole experience.

Do well - I'm not going to wish you luck because luck has nothing to do with it, IMHO.

bevvy, this is similar to what my clinic recommends. It makes so much sense to take it gradually, and to take "taking it gradually" just as seriously as one would take the protocol on VLCD! I plan to go even more slowly with starches than the list proposes.

Amen girlfriend. Amen :high5:

However, I did have a salad today. But it was WITH blue cheese dressing :yummy: the best ever. That is what I do on my first day of P3......salad with full fat blue cheese dressing :yummy: every first P3 day. Love it :love: But I had eggs too. Not just the whites!!! WooHoo!!!!!

On a fat fast you consume about 1000 calories--the majority of them coming from fat. That is the cliff notes version.

JUDDD is an alternate day diet. One day is an up day, the next being a down day. I can do that since I am used to 500 calories. I am planning on doing 500 calories on my down days. For the up days....not sure how many calories I would need. But I have time to figure that out. There are ways of doing 2 up days in a row, or 2 down days in a row. That is not encouraged though because you need the difference in calories for it to work. But like buttah said, lots of info on the JUDDD forum. Check those out!!

Btw, didn't do a fat fast day today. I had added in fat yesterday and that was it. I added in 3 tablespoons of mayo--what a delicious dressing it makes when you add mustard to it. The coconut water I drank at dinner time helped to melt off 0.8 lbs and leave me BELOW LDW today, my first P3 day :jumpjoy:

On UD's (according to Dr. Johnson in his book), you eat to satiety, but do not stuff yourself. The UD calories given on the calculator on his site are only a guideline. You should not eat when you're not hungry. The benefits from IF are numerous, and include reduced inflammation. My bloodwork after doing it was amazing.